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Tuesday, April 18, 2017

TV Tuesday: American Crime, Season 3

Although I already reviewed American Crime
last year, during season 2, I wanted to review season 3 separately
because - as was the case for season 1 also - it is wholly unique and
stand-alone.

American Crime is a unique approach
to a TV series, as each season is a completely separate story, with no
connection at all to previous seasons. In essence, each season acts kind
of like a mini-series. The only thing the seasons have in common is a
handful of top actors, including Timothy Hutton, Felicity Huffman,
Regina King, and Lily Taylor (though they play different characters each
season). Each season of the show zeroes in on one aspect of crime in
America. Seasons 1 and 2 each focused on one particular crime, with
complex underpinnings, including racial tensions, and many shades of
gray (a home invasion gone wrong in the first season and a male rape at a
high school party in the second). Season 3 varies a bit from that
formula, instead focusing in on one community and looking at multiple
forms of criminal activity occurring there. Several storylines deal with
immigrants, while another one focuses in on human trafficking (which,
of course, can also affect immigrants).

So, in season
3, there are multiple storylines that are separate but intersect in one
way or another, all taking place in one community in North Carolina. In
the first episode, we meet Alonzo Gutierrez, played by Benito Martinez,
who has struggled to get into the United States illegally from Mexico.
He is looking for his beloved son, who left home as a teenager. All he
knows is that he ended up working on a farm in North Carolina. Alonzo
ends up on the Hesby farm, where he finds some people who recognize the
photo of his son, so he begins working there as a migrant worker. The
Hesby family has run this farm for generations, but they are now
struggling to survive, with pressure to continually reduce costs to
preserve a small profit. Matriarch Laurie Ann, played by Cherry Jones,
runs the farm with an iron fist, determined not to lose her family's
legacy. As you might have guessed, the pressure to cut costs results in
hiring migrant workers for less and less pay and appalling living
conditions.

Meanwhile, in the city, underage teen Shae
is working for a pimp, selling her body to survive. One night, a john
beats her, and when the police come, she is put into the hands of
Kimara, played by Regina King, a social worker who is devoted to saving
kids like Shae, all while she struggles to try to get pregnant herself.
Kimara wants to help her new charge, but Shae's not sure she wants to be
helped.

A few more episodes in, we meet Clare Coates,
played by Lily Taylor, a wealthy woman who has hired a Haitian immigrant
named Gabrielle to care for her beloved son. Gabrielle doesn't speak
English, but Claire hopes that she can teach her young son French. Her
husband, Nicholas, played by Timothy Hutton, owns a furniture company
(another classic North Carolina industry) that is also struggling to
make a profit, and he thinks it's absurd to hire a nanny who can't speak
English.

It might sound confusing, but these
storylines are each fleshed out as the season continues, and we get to
know the characters. In some cases, there are intersections between the
stories, as when Kimara gives a speech to a group of wealthy families,
which includes Clair and Nicholas, to explain the tragedy of human
trafficking and how resources are needed to help the victims.

As
with previous seasons, the production qualities are very high, with
excellent acting and writing, and I soon found myself drawn into these
disparate lives and caring about the characters. One of the things I
like best about this remarkable series is how thought-provoking it is,
digging deep into complex issues and looking at the shades of gray that
are often overlooked. For instance, we see the horrible conditions of
the migrant workers on the farm but also the desperation of the owning
family not to lose their business. I am only on episode 5 (of 10), so I
am interested to see what will happen next. These are all compelling
stories with plenty of suspense and unexpected twists that make me think
more deeply about the complexity of the issues facing our society
today.

There are 6 episodes out so far this season,
and all of them are still available On Demand (the first one comes off
on May 30), and episodes 2 through 6 are also available for free on the ABC website. American Crime
is also available on Amazon for $1.99 per episode or $14.99 for the
entire season (and the first two seasons are also available there). So,
you could pay $1.99 for episode 1 and then watch the rest for free on
the ABC website.

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About Me

I'm a freelance writer who loves to read and cook. My husband and I have two sons, and we all enjoy travel and being outdoors. My older son and I both have chronic illnesses, but we focus on finding joy in every day!